Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican,
is calling for a proposed executive order protecting LGBT workers to
include religious protections.

President Barack Obama has reportedly
agreed to sign the order, which would bar contractors doing business
with the federal government from discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation or gender identity.

Hatch called for exemptions similar to
those found in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which
last year cleared the Senate with Hatch's support but has run aground
in the House, where House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from
Ohio, has called the legislation “unnecessary.” ENDA would
prohibit public and private employers, not just those doing business
with the federal government, from discriminating against LGBT
workers.

“While the specifics of this
executive order are not yet clear, I believe it must include the same
religious protections that are included in the bipartisan Employment
Non-Discrimination Act that passed the Senate,” Hatch told gay
weekly the Washington
Blade. “ENDA strikes a good balance to ensure that
discrimination based on sexual orientation will not be tolerated, but
also that one of our nation’s fundamental freedoms – religious
freedom – is still upheld. The same must be said for any Obama
Administration initiative on this issue.”